Mom's Chair

It's been a long summer! Lots of things have been going on like vacations, resting and having tons of fun! So one day I was feeling very creative and decided to start working on Mom's chair. This is a chair that she found somewhere many years ago and painted it an adorable yellow and sponge painted white on top. After many years out in the weather it needed a little help. Mom asked if I would collage it. Sure, why not! I had just finished a table for my sister. I do believe that Karen O'Brien has created a monster in me...I just love to collage! Nothing is safe in my house. Someday my partner will come home and I will have collaged everything including the TV!

With lots of love, paper, glue and paint the process begins. My favorite papers to use are maps, book pages, music and a coloring book page (this makes for interesting marks). Layers after layers are put on the chair. Karen taught us NOT to fall in love with any one section because before you know it...it's changed. I love to watch it transform from one look to the next after each layer. Add a coat of transparent paint to the end and watch it change again.

Grunge Meets Karen

Hello fellow journal people! Today was an awesome day for creativity! Mom and I went to another class with Karen O'Brien! Once again it was fabulous. We had been asking Karen to help us with the pages of our journals. She taught us how to create background pages....well, that's great, but what do we do with them now?? Today was just a small spattering of what we could do! With an image, glue, paint, tore paper and a few markers I came up with this little doll of a gal. Not sure what to name her yet, but it will come to me.

The left side of the spread is a grunge technique that we learned from a video we watched from Comfortable Shoes Studio. Leslie has some great videos on You Tube if you get a chance to see them.

Our Family...

Our best friends, Dana and Fran, had a baby back in May. He is just about the cutest thing you will ever see. Sweet face, sweet nature, just a sweet boy. Sigh! I seem to cry every-time I see him. Not sure why, I just feel the emotions and smile....

While visiting them in October we walked into a baby store and I saw a wooden frame that was so-so done with the words "Our Family just grew by two feet". Clever, I thought, but I think I would like to make one for them and make it more personal. So, as Fran was giving Lee his bath, I asked if we could take a couple of pictures of his feet....so sneaky! Christmas was coming and I thought that would be a great time to give them something special. So Cat and I put our heads together and came up with a great wide black frame, the pic of his feet, some velum for the words and the collage technique Karen O'Brien taught, I was off and running....

The Fat Man is coming!

Christmas is on it's way and I am getting ready to make some canvas journals to give away...

Get a nail brush, paint and gesso'd canvas and paint your little heart out. I like using the nail brush to move the paint around and it's good for getting the paint in the canvas.

After it dried I put a coat of Golden Gloss Medium. I like a little gloss of the covers. It's not too much, it's just right. Hard part is waiting for the gloss to dry. Waiting, waiting and wait some more....

Sew a few signatures and add a button and a closer...then they will be ready for wrapping and giving them away.

My Painted Journal

This is the first time I have painted in a journal. What an experience! Last February, Mom bought me a class for my birthday. She didn't tell me a thing about the class, let it be a surprise, just said she hoped that I would enjoy it. And I did! This was our first (and defiantly NOT last) class we took from Karen O'Brien. We took a book and tore out pages, glued on images and other paper. Whatever you want, glue it....then we painted the pages with acrylic paints. Moving the paint around on the page with an old credit card, disinfectant wipes and paper towels. Let them dry, then added a little more color with oil pastels, watercolor, stamps, gel pens and more paint if needed. This gives a great place to start journaling....I have stayed away from journaling most of me life because, I am not a writer and I get hand cramps! But in looking at others artists work, you don't have to just write like we did when we were in junior high. It is all about art, color, texture, some writing, movement and exploring your world around you. Next, for me comes the "art it up" part of the journey. I now have unique pages to lay my art work.

Canvas Journal

A few months ago my sister was in town and she had this fabulous canvas journal. As I loved on it, I had to know more about how it was made. She sent me the information about how the artist had made this cover.

Canvas, gesso, acrylic paint, pens, leather strap and a fun button!

We (mom and I) set out to find just the right canvas for this project. We found a nice heavy weight fabric at our local fabric store, Plaza Sewing & Quilting Center in Grants Pass. We also found the button we used on the front.

We cut the canvas the size we wanted with an extra length for the flap. With gesso, we painted the front and let it dry. It gave it a nice base for the colors we wanted to add. Then came the fun part. Paint! We chose our paint and began to spread the colors. At first it was a little scary, but had to remember to layer the colors. We used all sorts of tools to cover the surface. One of my favorite tools to use is an old credit card. It helps move the paint around. I also found a old fingernail cleaning brush. That really helped blend the colors and get the paint into the cloth. After we painted we let the book cover dry over night. The next day we put a coat of Golden's Gloss Medium. It gave the book cover a nice shine. If you like a matt look omitt the gloss finish. Next came the sewing of the signatures. We both did 3 signatures with about 3-4 pages each. Sewing was basic, we did the running stitch. Added the button to the front for the closure. Mom added beads to the ends of her leather strip, it really finished it off. Mom's book in the one on top and mine is the on the bottom. After finishing the book I thought of all sorts of ideas we could do. Cat and I just got back from visiting family and friends in Southern California. I think I will make a cover to reflect where we have been. Write a little about our trip. I did save some mementos from the vacation. Maybe the word Hollywood or SO CAL on the front cover.....hhmmm, will give that some thought.